Kateřina Valachová, photo: Filip Jandourek
Education minister Kateřina Valachová has backed a demand by teaching
unions for a hike in wages of 10 percent. Valachová said the increase was
large but legitimate given the level of teachers’ pay and the difficulty
in finding qualified and motivated staff. The minister said she would begin
talks with the minister of finance, Andrej Babiš, about inserting the
raise in the budget for 2017 and 2018. The cost of a 10 percent rise would
be around 13 billion crowns a year. Average teachers’ wages are currently
around 26,000 crowns a month, some of the lowest for university graduates
across all professions in the country.

Czech mortgage loans market surges in 2015

The total worth of mortgage loans offered last year came to a record 184
billion crowns, according to figures released by the Ministry for Regional
Development. The number of clients taking out loans jumped to around
102,000. The main factor in the booming market was the low average interest
rates on mortgages of around 2.14 percent. The mortgage loans total in 2014
came to around 143 billion crowns.

Fifteen percent of elderly facing poverty says survey

Photo: archive of Radio Prague
Around 15 percent of Czech elderly people are faced with poverty, a survey
commissioned by the Czech Statistical Office has reported. It found those
living on their own in old age, mostly women, are particularly vulnerable
to hardship with around 75,000 elderly people falling into the poverty
trap. Poverty is defined as having less than 60 percent of the average
monthly income.

Court declares significant manufacturer Motorpal unable to meet debts

Brno regional court has declared the Jihlava-based diesel engine and auto
parts producer Motorpal unable to meet its debts. The company is a player
on world markets and employs around 1,300 in Jihlava and more at other
plants in the Czech Republic. It is a world player on the market for fuel
injection systems for diesel engines. A restructuring plan, which was
reported to have the backing of most of the banks and companies owed money,
was not accepted by the court. Motorpal is reported to owe around 800
million crowns. It’s annual turnover in 2014 was around 1.3 billion
crowns.

Gap between amount Prague pays into and draws from EU highest ever last
year

Photo: Filip Jandourek
Last year the Czech Republic drew nearly 152 billion crowns more from the
European Union than it paid into the bloc, according to figures released by
the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday. It was the highest such gap since the
country joined the EU in May 2004. The Czech Republic drew a total of 157
billion crowns from the union’s Structural and Cohesion Funds, as well as
receiving 31 billion crowns under the Common Agricultural Policy. Since its
accession the Czech Republic has contributed 429 billion crowns to the
EU’s coffers and received 990 billion crowns.